Of Witches and Whiskers
by Nialon
Summary: Cas really has a knack for getting stuck with the most ridiculous curses.
1. Chapter 1

_I return to you all a freshman in college. :) You have no idea how happy that makes me. Now, I started on this months ago but I just picked it up again, hoping to get back into writing. I don't want to get rusty. Don't forget to review!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural._

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This is a peculiar situation the Winchesters have gotten themselves into. Both are held by an invisible force to the wall of some old lady's house, and apparently said old lady happens to be the witch they were hunting for.

Who would've thought?

Turns out the witch was very old fashioned, and she had a grudge against Dean and his…_escapades _with women. Called him a man-whore too. And other hurtful names that made Dean want to poke her eyes out with her own knitting needle. She seemed like such a nice old lady too. Which was why they took her up on her offer of cookies and milk (because they were chocolate chip, _duh_) after they finished interviewing her.

So, here they are, about to get witchified in some no name town in Missouri. Beaten by an old woman. What a way to go. The witch starts to mumble some really weird sounding words that Dean can't make out, but he figures Sam knows because he's a ginormous geek with his big nerdy brain and his handy dandy laptop.

His super smart brother who could also be the world's biggest idiot.

This witch thing is his fault. At least from Dean's point of view.

A suspicious looking light begins to form a few feet in front of Dean as the witch chants and that's when things get weird.

Cas shows up just when the light shoots at Dean and the blast outlines the shadows of the angel's wings as they stretch out, shielding Dean. Both Winchesters close their eyes at the resulting blinding light that engulfs the room. Then light brightens and disappears. They hear the witch scream and then all is quiet. They fall from their restraints into a heap on the ground, rubbing their eyes at the flashes dancing across their vision.

Dean blinks and sees Castiel's clothes in a pile in front of him. No angel in sight. The hunter scrambles to his feet, panic gripping his senses as he whirls around to face Sam, who is staring wide eyed at what is left of Castiel.

"Sam! Where the _hell_ is he? Where –"

A light shuffling sound cuts Dean short and the brothers freeze, cocking their heads at the noise. They hear it again and realize that it's coming from Castiel's clothes. Sam's face scrunches up as he watches a lump move around under the trench coat.

"What the hell...?"

Dean frowns and crouches down in front of the wiggling object under the mound of cloth. He looks up at Sam, who nods, drawing his gun. Dean takes a small breath and lifts up the coat quickly. Both of their jaws drop.

A kitten is sitting in front of them.

"Holy crap, Dean…" Sam's voice is shocked as he looks at the tiny cat before him. "Is that…?"

Dean nods slowly, staring down at the kitty. He knows those big blue eyes anywhere.

Cas is a kitten. A _kitten. _A very small kitten who doesn't even look over two months old, with white fur and gray tipped ears and the same deep blue eyes.

Dean freaks.

"Dude, what the hell?"

"I don't know!" Sam exclaims.

"Seriously, dude, _what the hell?_"

"_I don't know!_"

They continue to stare at the Cas-kitten, who is staring up at them, his furry head cocked, managing to twist his feline features into a look of confusion that rivals the Winchester's. Then he opens his mouth.

"Mow?"

Holy mother of Jesus on rye.

Dean will _never _admit how freakin' adorable Castiel sounded just then. Never.

Sam, however, has no problem with it.

"Dean! That was adorable! How can Cas be that adorable?"

Sam scoops Castiel up and the kitten is dwarfed in his massive hands as he grins at Dean, holding Cas up so their faces are side by side. The elder Winchester frowns, not liking the fact that Sam is holding his kitten.

Wait…well, Cas _is _Dean's angel, he did raise him from Hell and left a mark to prove it. So that would definitely transfer when he's a cat. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

Having reassured himself mentally with his amazing logic, Dean scowls at Sam and snatches Cas out of his hands. Sam sputters, indignant, watching as his brother shields Castiel in his hands. Only the kitten's gray tipped ears can be seen.

"He's mine! My cat!"

"Nuh uh! You have to share, Dean!"

"Since when? This is all your fault anyway! If you hadn't started talking to that old lady about how many girls I go out with and how you think it's improper and shit, she wouldn't have tried to curse me!" Dean feels Cas stiffen in his hands and he looks down to see the kitten's ears flat against his head, blue eyes narrowed at Sam. The younger Winchester's eyes widen as Cas glares at him.

"Uh, Dean…I think he can understand us."

"Yeah, looks like it. I think he's mad at you."

"No he's not…" But as Sam reaches for Cas the angel kitten arches his back and hisses, his snowy fur standing on end. Dean laughs at the hurt expression on his brother's face. "I didn't mean to…" Sam trails off, looking dejectedly at Cas. "I'm sorry, Cas."

"Just get his clothes. I don't know what he did to the witch, but we can't ask her how to fix this. If you want to make it up to Cas you should work your geek boy stuff and find a way to fix him."

"Yeah, I guess." Sam picks up the angel's clothes and follows him out the door. In the car, Dean sets Castiel down between them. He waves a finger at the kitten, watching as wide blue eyes trail the movement. Castiel's tail twitches.

"Don't scratch my seats, Cas."

Castiel looks innocently up at Dean and the hunter has to resist the urge to scratch him behind his ears.

Not in front of Sam.

"Right. Off we go."

They reach the motel without a hitch, though Castiel frequently ended up sliding across the seat, bumping into either Sam or Dean's thigh as the Impala turned. Every time he hit Sam he'd get up and attempt to make his way back to Dean, but he kept his claws retracted and he just ended slipping on the leather because he couldn't get a firm hold. Finally, at a red light Dean picked him up with one hand and sat him in his lap, smirking at Sam when Cas immediately curled up and sat still for the rest of the ride. Dean was reintroduced to Sam's bitchface no. 9. He hadn't seen that one in a while.

Back inside the room, Sam springs into action. "I call shower first." He grabs his folded clothes off his bed and rushes into the bathroom before Dean has time to speak.

Sam _so_ planned that.

Grumbling under his breath, Dean takes Castiel out of his jacket pocket and sets him down on the bed. Sneaking kittens into motels is very easy, he found out.

Castiel meows, swatting at Dean's finger when he pokes him.

"You're really soft," Dean comments, observing as Castiel's tail swishes back and forth. "Like a stuffed animal." He laughs at the expression on Castiel's face. Only the angel can make a cat look like that. "Just playing." He scoops up Cas and flops onto the bed, settling the kitten on his stomach. "Hmm. You're really tiny, too. What are you, like a month old? And look, you have a sock."

Castiel stares.

Dean scratches behind Cas' ear, surprised at Castiel's eyes closing in contentment and the small rumbling noise sounding from the kitten's small frame. "Hey, you're purring." Castiel blinks one eye open, purring louder when Dean switches ears.

_I find this very relaxing._

Dean freezes an looks at the kitten in shock. That was definitely Castiel's voice in his head. He squints down at the feline.

"Cas?"

_Keep scratching._

Dean breaks out into a grin and sits up, laughing when his sudden movement causes Castiel to tumble off onto the bed. "Sorry." He watches as Castiel sits up, focusing his round and slightly irritated eyes on him.

_And I do not have a sock, Dean. It would not fit._

Dean chuckles at the fact that he's talking to an angel cat. He must look crazy. "No, I meant the tip of your paw. It's gray."

Castiel stares down at his front left paw, noticing for the first time that it looks like someone dipped it in gray paint.

_I see._

Dean taps his fingers against his stomach, peering down at Cas.

"So…you have any of your angel mojo?"

_I'm afraid not. I'm surprised that I can even communicate with you. It must be because of the link that ties us together._

"Oh." Dean doesn't know what else to say, so he resumes scratching Castiel's ears, smirking when he starts purring very loudly again, tilting his head up so Dean can get under his chin. "Cas, you sound like a motorboat."

_I can't help it. Keep scratching._

That's the sight that Sam is greeted with when he steps out of the shower, clad in a fresh pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He smirks, clearing his throat and grinning when Dean startles and sets Cas down, who looks confused at the sudden interruption of his ear scratching. He meows, clearly agitated.

"Be quiet. No, I'm done being your man servant. Don't get bitchy with me. Oh yeah? How about I drop kick your fuzzy ass in the toilet, huh? How does that sound?"

Sam's brows furrow as he watches Dean have a conversation with…himself?

"Dean…who are you talking to?"

Dean looks up at Sam as if he forgot he was there. He shrugs.

"Cas. He talks in my head."

Sam nods slowly, staring at his brother like he's lost his mind. "Oh. Okay…Shower is all yours."

"About time, Samantha. I swear, you're such a girl sometimes."

"Shut up." Sam scowls and goes over to retrieve his laptop. "I'm going to see if we can get Cas back to normal."

Dean nods, grabbing his change of clothes. "Keep an eye on him. Don't let him get lost under the bed or something." Dean pauses and grins, turning to the kitten glaring at him from his bed. "You can't smite anything; you're a cat. And a pretty pathetic looking one at that. Remember, I will not hesitate to flush you down the toilet." Dean steps into the bathroom, leaving Sam alone with Cas.

At first Castiel simply sits on Dean's bed and stares at Sam, but after a few minutes he curls up on one of the pillows and closes his eyes, purring softly.

In other words, he's being adorable. Again.

Sam sighs and turns back to his computer. The next time he looks at Dean's pillow, Cas isn't there. Sam closes his laptop and stands up, looking around the room.

"Cas? Where are you?" Dean will kill him if anything happens to the angel. "Cas?" Sam moves towards Dean's bed, crouching down and peering under it. "C'mon, this isn't funny." His eyes adjust to the darkness under the bed, but there is no sign of Cas. Just as he is about to get up something thumps onto his back and then sharp needles are digging into is skin suddenly and whatever it is _holds on _as Sam jumps up, dancing around as he reaches for his back. Even with those insanely long arms, he still can't get that spot where the pressure is.

He is pretty sure it's Cas.

"Get the hell off!"

Sam doesn't want to hurt the kitten because he's so small, but his claws are really sharp. Cas makes it worse when he digs them in further and Sam yelps and finally gets a hold of fur and he pulls the attacking cat off by the scruff of his neck, bringing him around so they are eye level. Castiel hangs limp in Sam's grip, his lower body curled up as he stares at Sam with wide eyes.

Then Dean steps out of the bathroom. He looks at Sam and the kitten dangling from his hand. Cas turns his head and looks at Dean.

"Mow?"

"What the hell, Sam?"

Dean stalks over and grabs Cas, who seems to be able to move freely again once he's out of Sam's grip. He sits in Dean's hands, purring contentedly. Sam points at him.

"He's a hellcat, Dean! He attacked me!"

Dean laughs and shakes his head at Sam. "No, he's an angel cat. Because he's an angel. And maybe if you wouldn't pick him up like that he'll be nice to you."

Sam pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. "No, he jumped on me first. And I wasn't hurting him."

"He wasn't even moving! You must have paralyzed him or something," Dean snaps, his tone accusatory.

"That happens when you pick kittens up like that. It's instinct. Their mothers do it so they can move them around. Try it. It won't hurt him."

"I don't want to. Just leave him alone." Sam and all his geeky knowledge. Dean scowls and walks over to his bed and sets Cas down on the left pillow. He settles in on the right side of the bed, sitting with his back against the headboard. "So…find anything?"

Sam huffs and sits on his bed. "No. Cas jumped me before I could look." He pauses, and then his face brightens. "The old lady, Dean! She said something about going a week as the dog you really are. Maybe that's what the curse was supposed to do; turn you into a dog so you would learn your lesson. Maybe with Cas it just turned out different. I guess he's is more of a cat person?"

Dean grins. "Of course he's a cat person. He hardly comes when we call him and he's always staring at things that aren't there."

Cas hisses at him.

"Whatever, Cas. You know it's true." Dean lowers himself until he's under the covers. Cas curls up on the pillow next to him. "Got beaten up by a cat," Dean mumbles at Sam, yawning. Sam scowls and gets settled on his back.

"A hellcat. He's a hellcat," he says, turning over.

"Whatever helps you sleep, dude." Dean reaches over and turns off the lamp.

OOO

Dean awakens with a jolt, his arm hanging over the side of his bed, his fingers coming in contact with something light. He looks over the bed to see Cas sitting on his haunches batting at his hand. Cas' blue eyes are narrowed and focused and Dean has to chuckle.

"Having fun?"

_Yes._

Dean looks over to Sam's bed to seem him snoring away. He's usually up by…Dean looks at the clock.

Three thirty-six?

Dean gapes, looking down at the kitten still playing with his fingers. He grabs Cas by the back of his neck, lifting him up to glare at him. Cas goes completely still and curls up his lower half.

"You woke me up at three in the morning!" Dean whispers harshly, not wanting to wake Sam.

Castiel purrs.

Dean narrows his eyes and shakes the kitten a little. "Why are you always so damn happy?"

Castiel continues to purr, blinking at Dean.

_I don't know._

"You're weird," Dean states. "Is this hurting you?"

_No. I am very comfortable, actually._

Castiel purrs some more. Just for good measure.

Dean sets him back on the bed and scoots back to watch him.

"Well…I'm going back to sleep. Don't wake me up again." Dean rolls over with his back to Cas. After a moment he feels light footsteps walking across his legs. He looks down to see Cas settle on the edge of his bed. Dean sighs.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

He doesn't know how much of an understatement that is.

* * *

_Was that okay? I hope it was..._


	2. Chapter 2

_Wow! You're all awesome! I was not expecting so many reviews. I am an extremely happy camper. :) But I do apologize for this ridiculously short chapter...I just need to set up for the last chapter, which will be much longer. And there's a twist at the end that you wouldn't want to miss..._

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Castiel doesn't know why, but things seem better as a kitten. It confuses him, because they're in the middle of the apocalypse and all he wants to do is sleep in Dean's lap.

He would never sleep in Dean's lap if he were his normal self.

He wouldn't even be sleeping. And anyways, he's pretty sure Dean would hit him if he tried it.

But being a kitten is completely different. He slept for a little while last night and now he's hungry. But Dean isn't up yet and neither is Sam. Not that he'd try and get _Sam _to give him food. He started all this. Castiel was quite busy when he heard Dean's frantic thoughts in his mind. He was very loud and extremely hard to ignore, so Cas popped in without actually taking the time to see what was going on and then BAM! He's a kitten. A very hungry kitten.

_Dean._

Castiel sits in front of Dean's face, his tail waving back and forth.

_Dean._

Growing impatient, Castiel swipes at Dean's nose with his paw. The hunter's face scrunches up and he rolls over. Great. Time for plan B.

"Meeeooooow," Castiel wails. "Meeeeeeoooooooo –"

Dean shoves him off the bed.

Castiel lands on his feet, pissed as hell. The kitten crouches, wiggling his butt a little before he leaps back onto the bed again.

Dean better not try that shit again.

But he's sprawled on his back, dead to the world. Castiel stares at him for a moment, and then leaps on his chest. Dean doesn't even twitch, so Castiel digs his claws into the fabric of Dean's shirt and into his skin. The hunter shoots up with a startled noise and Cas falls into his lap.

"What the hell? Cas, I told you not to wake me up!"

_I'm hungry._

"Really, all I wanted was a few hours of – Wait, what? You're _hungry_?" Dean sounds mortified. "You want food? Why do you want food? Angels don't need food. Did you fall without telling me? 'Cause if you did we're going to –"

_I am not falling any faster than I was before, Dean. If you haven't noticed, I am a cat. And I believe cats eat._

Dean stares down at him suspiciously. One day Cas is going to give him an ulcer.

_I would heal it for you._

"I'm sure you would," the hunter mumbles, still staring suspiciously at Cas. Finally Dean stretches and Cas jumps off his lap. "Well, we don't have any food for people, let alone cats. I guess I have to go to the store. You're staying here." Dean yawns, looking to Sam, who is still fast asleep. He scribbles a note and leaves it on the nightstand between the beds. He feels a pressure on his on his thigh and looks down to see Cas pressing his forepaws on him to look up at him.

_I would like to go with you._

His eyes are really, really blue. And big…and he's so…_fluffy_…

Dean snaps out of it.

"No way, dude. People don't take cats shopping. Just take a nap or something." Dean stands and moves toward his duffle bag to get his clothes. He knows Cas is staring at him. Which is okay, because Dean can ignore anything. He can ignore and ignore some more until whatever he's ignoring doubts its own existence.

Yeah. He's _that_ good.

So when he steps out of the shower and into the room to grab his jacket and car keys he makes sure Sam is still sleeping and then continues to ignore Cas right out the door and into the Impala. Imagine his surprise when he reaches to his right side for his tapes and feels fur instead. He almost swerves the Impala into a truck.

_Be careful, Dean. I can't heal you like this if you get into an accident._

"Cas! I told you to stay! Why are you so stubborn?"

_If I wasn't I wouldn't be helping you._

He does have a point, but Dean grumbles anyway.

"Whatever, man. You're staying in the car, though. Okay?"

Cas isn't looking at him. He's focused on a bug that has attached itself to the outside of the windshield.

"Cas? Cas." Dean snaps his fingers. The kitten doesn't seem to hear him. Dean sighs and pulls into the parking lot. He looks at Cas, who is still staring at the bug. Shaking his head, he steps out of the car and into the store.

When he returns with tuna and milk in hand, Cas is exactly where he left him. Thank goodness for small miracles. "I got you tuna, Cas. You'll like tuna." The kitten tilts his head.

_Tuna?_

"Yep. Milk, too." He chuckles. "You're a cat, dude. It's kind of funny when you think about it." Cas must not think it's funny, if the angry swish of his tail across the leather seat is anything to go by.

_I do not find this funny. I have strange urges to do even stranger things and everything is bigger than me. I have none of my angelic powers and now I am reduced to eating canned tuna. This is far from funny. I – _

Dean scratches behind the kitten's ears and Cas stops in mid-rant, turning his head into Dean's hand. Dean smirks "You're so easy."

_I believe that is what got _you_ in trouble in the first place._

"Hey!" Dean exclaims, offended. "I am not easy! I'm just...okay, so maybe my standards aren't where they should be." Cas doesn't respond, continuing to purr as Dean pets him, arching into his hand as it travels down his back.

Maybe things didn't suck that bad as a cat.

When Dean and Cas get back to the motel, Dean opens the door and Cas leaps out onto the pavement. "Watch it, Cas! Don't trip over a twig or something."

_I am an angel of the Lord. I do not trip over – _

Dean watches as Cas trips over a twig and face plants.

The hunter laughs at Cas, who turns and hisses at him. Dean shakes his head, grinning widely. "I told you so," he says in a sing song voice. Cas ears flatten themselves to his head and he follows Dean to their room to see Sam already up and typing away on his laptop.

"Oh, hey guys. I think I might have found something that can help Cas get back to normal. And it's not even that complicated." Sam looks up and sees the bags in Dean's hands. He raises an eyebrow. "You got him tuna?"

"Cats like tuna!" Dean exclaims defensively. Sam shrugs. Then his expression brightens.

"Hey, maybe you should have gotten him one of those little toy fishing poles with the mouse on the end. Or some catnip. I bet he'd like catnip."

_Tell your brother to shut up._

"Cas says he'd like to try the catnip."

_What? No!_

"Yeah, he really wants catnip. Great idea, Sam." Dean grins down at Cas. "So…that thing you found. It's doable, right? No hitches?"

Sam turns back to his laptop and after a few moments he nods. "Yeah, we should be able to pull this off. The only hard part would be finding the ingredients…" Dean doesn't hear the rest of Sam's sentence.

He feels funny. Really, _really_, funny.

He must have been standing there feeling funny for a while because Sam quits talking and squints at him hard.

"You okay, man?"

Dean nods.

Then he disappears in an explosion of white smoke.

"Holy crap!" Sam shouts, rushing towards the pillar of smoke that had enveloped his brother. He reaches out a hand and as soon as it comes in contact with the smoke a small current of electricity shocks him. Sam yelps and waves his hand in the air, looking on helplessly at the swirling mass of smoke.

"Dean! Can you hear me? Cas?"

After a few more seconds the smoke begins to dissipate. Sam waits anxiously, his eyes glued to the spot where his brother should be. Except…it isn't his brother in that spot.

It's a dog. _Two _dogs.

"Oh…my…God." Sam stares, dumbfounded at the canines before him. One is a doberman and the other is a...well, Sam doesn't know what the hell the other one is, just that he's white and very wolf-like. "Dean?" At his name the doberman barks, cocking his head to the side as he stares at Sam with deep brown eyes. "Shit, Dean! You're a dog!" Dean growls and barks again. He stands up and takes one step before tripping over himself and falling to the ground.

Beside Dean sits Castiel, who looks as calm as ever despite the situation. But then again, he was a cat before this so he must see this as an improvement. Cas looks at Dean, who has managed to get himself into a sitting position again.

_It seems I was not able to fully protect you from the witch's curse._

Dean turns to him and growls.

_No shit, Sherlock! Look at me! I'm a dog! I can't believe this is happening to me! This is your fault!_

Dean immediately realizes that this was the wrong thing to say to an angel that got turned into a cat for him.

Castiel's ears flatten against his head and he bares his _very _white and sharp looking teeth at Dean, not growling, but still extremely intimidating.

_Do not belittle all that I have done for you, Dean. I suggest you sit there and be quiet until Sam figures out how to return us to our normal states._

Dean doesn't respond, though he does hunch over a little, managing to look slightly apologetic. Meanwhile, Sam is looking between the two dogs, completely lost. Cas looks pissed as hell and Dean's just sitting there looking like someone stole his pie.

It can't possibly get any weirder. Sam scratches the back of his neck and smiles uncertainly.

"Well…I guess I better get more ingredients, huh?

The dogs stare at him. Sam sighs.

"I need twice as much now. We'll have to go out and get some stuff." He watches as Dean hangs his head.

_This sucks._

Cas looks over at him.

_At least you've never had a hairball._

* * *

_Ha! I have gone completely mad and turned both of them into dogs! Because I can. Heehee. _


	3. Chapter 3

_You all make my world go 'round with your wonderful reviews. :)_

* * *

Sam doesn't know what the hell is going on. He can understand why Dean was turned into a dog, but what was Cas' excuse? Was it because he was next to Dean in that creepy mist? In the end Sam supposes it doesn't matter. He just needs to fix it. He sneaks a peek at his canine brother from across the top of his laptop. Dean is sniffing around their room, stopping occasionally every few seconds. Cas is lying down with his head on his paws, keeping one eye on Dean as he rests. Suddenly, Dean's ears perk up and he wags his docked tail so hard his whole rear end shakes. He noses under Sam's bed.

_I found pizza, Cas!_

He pulls out from under the bed with a slice of cheese pizza in his jaws. In one gulp he's devoured it whole. Cas lifts his head from his paws.

_That was disgusting, Dean._

_Hey. I'm a dog, remember?_

Dean sticks his head under the bed again, miraculously remerging with another slice of pizza. He pads over to Cas and drops it in front of him. Cas looks down at the slightly fuzzy pizza and back up at Dean.

_I am not eating that._

_Aw, c'mon, Cas! It's only a few days old. And there's some really good seasoning on it. Tastes like garlic…._

Sam watches the scene with one eyebrow raised, observing as Dean pushes the pizza closer to Cas, whose nose scrunches up in response. Then he gets up and walks to the other side of the room, plopping down again. Dean stares at him for a moment before gobbling up the pizza.

_Your loss, man._

Cas snorts and lays his head back down.

_Hardly._

At this point Sam has turned his attention back to his laptop. It was a hassle finding the ingredients before, but now he has to find twice as much. It would take hours. And he really isn't keen on leaving Dean and Cas alone in the motel room. He'll just have to take them along.

A crash sounds in the room and Sam's head jerks up to see Dean sitting rather sheepishly beside the lamp that was once sitting on the night stand. Sam sighs.

Today is going to suck.

000

_Cas, what the hell are you?_

The two of them are in the backseat of the Impala as Sam drives to…wherever he needs to go. At his question Cas turns to look at him.

_What do you mean?_

_What are you? I'm obviously a very handsome looking Doberman – _he pushes his chest out and pricks his ears forward – _See? Handsome. But what are you? You're not nearly as good looking as me, but you don't look like one of those little wimpy dogs that yap a lot, either. Maybe you're one of those hybrid types. You know, like Balto!_

Cas stares at Dean blankly.

_Dude. We need to start up your Human 101 lessons again._

_That is not necessary, _Cas replies a little too quickly. He can practically hear the smirk in Dean's response.

_No, I really think we should. Remember what happened with Mindy? Hmm? Maybe if you had paid attention to what I was teaching you, it would have turned out differently and you and her could have had little angel babies and – _

_Dean! I do not appreciate you bringing Mindy into this. And I've already told you. Offspring produced by Mindy and I would be disastrous. _

Cas' eyes widen and he ducks his head a little.

_Not that I have thought about Mindy in…that way. The result would be…Dean! Do not patronize me._

But a teasing gleam has already entered Dean's gaze and his mouth opens in a doggy sort of grin.

_Cas and Mindy sittin' in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g, _is all he gets to before Cas suddenly leaps on him. Dean yelps in surprise as Cas' body weight knocks him off the seat and onto the floor.

_Hey!_

From the front seat Sam frowns and looks in the mirror.

"Hey! Cas, stop that!"

From his spot on the seat Cas stares down at Dean, who growls in response at the pleased look on the angel's face.

_You know I do not like to be patronized._

_You didn't have to jump me! Sheesh. You're definitely one of those hyrbrids. Freakin' psycho._

Dean clambers back on the seat and makes sure to stick to his side of the car.

000

"Okay." Sam stands in front of Cas and Dean on the sidewalk after parking the Impala. "Stay by me. Don't go wandering off or anything, all right?" Cas nods, but Dean is staring intently at something across the street. "Dean? Dean, what –"

_**Squirrel! **_

Dean shoots off across the road, narrowly avoiding speeding cars in pursuit of a squirrel that catches sight of the massive Doberman charging toward it and it begins to run away like a bat out of Hell.

"Dean! Come back!" Sam yells, not in the least bit surprised when Dean continues to chase the poor creature into a park. The youngest Winchester sighs and looks down at Cas. "You should go after him."

Cas stares.

"Hey, you pulled him out of Hell. You're responsible for him too." Sam pauses. "Don't look at me like that."

Cas continues to look at him like that.

Sam sighs in defeat. "Fine. Just stay here." Sam waits for traffic to die down before he jogs across the street and to the park. It doesn't take him long to find Dean. At the sight of his brother Sam sighs. How the hell does he do it?

A small group of women are surrounding Dean, cooing at him and rubbing his head and scratching behind his ears. Sam rolls his eyes at the way Dean puffs out his chest and at the reactions of the women.

"Aren't you the sweetest thing?"

"What a handsome dog you are! Yes you are!"

Dean barks in agreement and Sam rolls his eyes.

If only they knew how much of a jerk Dean is.

"Excuse me, ladies. I really need to get Dean back –"

"He's _yours_?" One of the women exclaims. Sam snorts.

"Unfortunately," he mumbles to himself.

"What?"

Sam jerks his head up. "Nothing. But I really do need him back." The women pout at this and Sam _almost_ rolls his eyes. "I'm sure he enjoyed your company." He shoots a pointed look at his brother.

Dean winks.

"Okay, we're leaving now. Come on, Dean." Sam starts walking back and is slightly surprised when he looks back to see Dean trotting along behind him. It's usually a hassle to get Dean to do what Sam wants. Maybe this whole dog thing isn't that bad of an idea. That thought is immediately thrown out when they get back to the sidewalk.

Cas is gone.

He's nowhere in sight. Sam doesn't understand because he told him to stay _right there _and Cas isn't as irresponsible as Dean. He would sit there patiently until Sam returned with Dean and then they'd be on their merry way. Cas would never disappear on them in a situation like this. Which meant something is seriously wrong here. Dean is already sniffing around, circling outward from where Cas was sitting. Sam waits anxiously, fearing for the worst as the minutes tick by. He knows he shouldn't be surprised. Hundreds of people walk along this same path; there must be too many scents to distinguish Cas from them all. Just as Sam reaches inside his pocket for the car keys, Dean takes off down the sidewalk.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Dean was a pretty fast dude on two legs, but with four he's the freakin' _Flash_. It's all Sam can do to keep him in sight. Dean weaves effortlessly through the legs of the people around him, though Sam has a bit more trouble because of his size. When Dean finally stops in front of an old looking building Sam feels terrible because he made two women spill their coffee and caused a little girl to drop her ice cream.

Today just isn't his day.

While Sam mopes because he's secretly a girl, Dean has confirmed that Cas' scent stops in front of this creepy ass looking door in front of him. Dean looks to Sam, who looks like he's still moping. Dean barks and trots over to Sam and proceeds to shove him forward by ramming into his legs.

"Hey! Okay, okay, I'm going. Jerk."

_Bitch._

When Sam opens the door and steps inside, both he and Dean freeze at what they see.

Dogs. Everywhere. All of them are in cages, lined up against the walls and some are in the middle of the room. The constant sound of barking never dulls and Sam can feel himself growing angrier by the second as he sees what state most of them are in. A lot of them are injured and are in need of medical attention. A low rumbling noise from Sam's left catches his attention and it takes a few seconds for him to realize that it's coming from his brother.

_Bastard's gonna pay for all this._

"I know, Dean."

Dean looks at Sam briefly before moving forward, intent on finding Cas. The other dogs are distracting, but Dean keeps moving with a single minded focus. Behind him trails Sam, looking sadly at the caged animals. Dogs should never be treated like this. Sam has always loved dogs since he was a kid. And even though their dad would never allow them to keep one, he had always hoped that one day he'd settle down and finally get one. Bones fulfilled half of that dream, but Sam had to run away to achieve even that.

Dean's short, loud barks jolts Sam out of his thoughts. He blinks slowly and realizes that he's been staring at a dog that resembles Bones. Shaking his head slowly Sam jogs over to where Dean is and crouches down to look into the cage.

Cas looks just as he did when they left him. Not a scratch is on him. Dean sticks his muzzle through the bar, his tail going ninety miles an hour.

_Cas! Are you okay? How'd you get here? Are you hurt at all? I'm gonna rip the guy that did this to you a new one, just wait –_

_I'm fine, Dean. My only complaint is the smell._

Dean retracts his muzzle and sits on his haunches, cocking his head at Cas.

_You just got doggy napped and thrown in a cage and all you're concerned about is the smell? My God, you're a freak._

Sam suddenly returns (when did he leave?) with keys in one hand. Dean moves aside and allows Sam to unlock the cage. Cas walks out like this is the most normal situation in the world and he sits down, looking between Sam and Dean expectantly.

_Well? I assume we are not leaving the rest of them here._

It takes Dean a second to realize that he means the other dogs.

_Oh! Right._

Just as Dean plans to head butt his brother to get his attention, Sam pulls out his phone and dials a number.

"Hello, I'd like to report a case of animal cruelty. Connor Lee. Yes…"

_See? Sammy's got it. Now tell me how the hell you ended up here._

Cas yawns widely and scratches one ear absently.

_I'm not sure, exactly. I was waiting for you and Sam to come back. Then someone kicked me and I bit them. I can't remember much after that._

Dean's tail starts to wag again.

_You bit someone? Dude! That's awesome! Except I'm pretty sure you bit the wrong guy._

_I believe he was the right guy since he is the reason we have found this place._

_I guess so._

The front door swinging open causes everyone's heads to swivel in that direction. A man walks in and catches sight of Sam, Dean, and Cas. He raises a fist and begins to stalk over.

"Hey! What are you doing? Get the hell out of here!"

_Wow, he's short_, is the first thing that crosses Sam's mind. And he's obviously got guts for coming right up to Sam and standing toe to toe with him.

"You listen here, buddy! I worked hard to get these dogs so's they can fight and I ain't about to let you ruin it! So get the hell out and maybe there won't be any trouble." He reaches for his back pocket, his intent obvious. Sam is already pissed at the thought of making the dogs fight each other and he clenches his fists together. Dean beats him to it.

The poor guy doesn't see it coming.

Dean leaps toward the small man and locks his jaws around the man's arm, taking him down easily. Then Dean places himself between Sam and his opponent, snarling and snapping his teeth and acting like he's fucking _Cujo. _Sam has to admit that his brother sounds pretty intimidating right now. The terrified look on the guy's face is priceless.

Payback's a bitch.

Sam smirks.

"Sick 'em, Dean."

000

Sam makes sure the cops are on the scene before they get ready to leave. The man who is responsible for all of it will definitely be spending a few months in the prison hospital. On their way to the car a little girl suddenly stalks up to Sam, her eyes narrowed. She looks to be around eleven. She points a little finger at him accusingly.

"Bitch, you spilled my ice cream!" She kicks his shin and Sam yelps, hopping on one foot as he watches her stalk away. Sam looks down at Dean, still hopping. "Shut up."

Finding the ingredients after that takes the rest of the day and it's in the late evening before they return to the motel. It is considerably harder to sneak two huge dogs into a motel than one little kitten, as Sam comes to find out. But they get it done and Sam has the antidote to turn Cas and Dean back to normal. He has them sit side by side after making them drink a special brew that is supposed to help with the process.

"Alright, guys. Here we go…"

Sam says the incantation and nothing happens for a few seconds. Then the same smoke from before appears and surrounds Cas and Dean. When it disappears Cas and Dean come into view as their normal human looking selves. Sam sighs in relief. Cas and Dean look at each other. Then Castiel's mouth drops and he points at Dean, his blue eyes wide in disbelief.

"Holy shit! I'm an angel!" he shouts.

Dean tilts his head at Cas.

"How peculiar."

Sam groans.

* * *

_The end! Or is it...?_

_Can anybody say...sequel? :D_


End file.
